July 31st, 2025
In the hills east of Ramallah, nestled among ancient olive groves and crowned by the sacred Church of Saint George, lies Taybeh—the last entirely Christian town in Palestine. For centuries, its people have kept the light of Christ burning amid war, displacement, and occupation. But in recent days, that light has been violently threatened by a storm of hatred, fanaticism, and silence.
The Holy Orthodox Order of Saint George the Great Martyr raises its voice in solemn indignation over the violent and unprovoked settler attacks on the Christian faithful of Taybeh.
We decry not only the desecration of sacred ground, the burning of property, and the terrorization of families—but also the utter failure of the occupying authorities to protect this vulnerable and historic community.
In the darkness of night, Israeli settlers descended upon Taybeh. With torches in hand and hatred in their hearts, they set fire to the earth and the heavens—targeting the very heart of Christian life in the West Bank. Cars were torched, homes were stoned, livestock driven into family yards. What was once a peaceful village of prayer and hospitality became a battlefield of fear.
One of the most grievous attacks was against the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George, a fifth-century Christian sanctuary where the prayers of the faithful have risen for over 1,500 years. Fire was set near its entrance, and the surrounding cemetery—where generations of Christian dead are laid to rest—was desecrated.
This is not merely vandalism. It is desecration. It is a campaign of intimidation. And it is part of a larger, coordinated attempt to erase the Christian presence from the land of Christ.
The Order has received disturbing and deeply sorrowful reports from the people of Taybeh—families who, in fear for their lives, have fled the very homes where their ancestors lived for generations. Elderly parents were forced to abandon homes they had tended for decades. Children awoke to the sound of shattered glass and the smell of smoke, their cries drowned by the shouts of armed men and the crackling of flames. Dozens have been injured—some with burns, others from stones hurled through windows, and many bearing the invisible wounds of trauma and terror. Homes have been ransacked. Vineyards and olive groves—some hundreds of years old—have been uprooted or torched, stripping families not only of their sustenance but of their dignity, memory, and future.
Livestock have been slaughtered or stolen. Wells have been poisoned. Doors have been marked. In some cases, villagers have reported threats warning them not to return—chilling echoes of ethnic cleansing, veiled in silence.
These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a deliberate, escalating campaign of settler extremism that seeks to erase not only the physical presence but also the spiritual and cultural identity of Christian and Muslim Palestinian communities alike throughout the West Bank. From Burin to Huwara, from Beit Jala to Taybeh, the pattern is clear: churches desecrated, mosques defiled, schools attacked, and families terrorized—under the shadow of occupation and behind the shield of silence.
What we are witnessing is not merely violence—it is the slow, systematic strangulation of a people and a heritage, carried out under the cover of night and the protection of indifference.
This violence is not spontaneous. It is systemic. It is shielded by impunity, often carried out under the watchful eye—or the silent complicity—of occupying forces.
And yet, what is most deafening is the silence of the world. Where are the outcries from the chancelleries of the West? Where are the sanctions, the condemnations, the demands for justice?
Has the suffering of Arab Christians become so familiar that it no longer stirs the conscience?
As we raise our voices for Taybeh, we cannot forget Gaza. In that long-besieged strip of land, the small and ancient Christian community—Orthodox and Catholic—has suffered horrors beyond comprehension. Churches bombed. Sacred relics buried beneath rubble. The faithful killed while taking refuge inside the very sanctuaries they believed would protect them.
From Gaza to Taybeh, the message is clear: the Christians of Palestine are under siege—not metaphorically, but physically, spiritually, and existentially. Their churches are in ruins. Their cemeteries are vandalized. Their children live with nightmares. Their faith is tested daily, not by doubt—but by injustice.
The Holy Orthodox Order of Saint George the Great Martyr was founded to defend the Christians of the Holy Land and the wider Middle East and to carry the torch of faith and memory through the fires of history. We do not raise the sword, but we raise our voices. We do not call for vengeance, but for justice. We do not curse the darkness, but we will not be blind to it.
The Order calls upon:
The international community to investigate these crimes under international law and to hold those responsible to account—settler and official alike.
The Church worldwide—Orthodox, Oriental, Catholic, and Protestant— to unite in unwavering solidarity with the Christians of Taybeh, Gaza, and beyond, and to speak with one voice against religious persecution.
The occupying authorities to end their policy of inaction and indifference toward settler violence and to ensure the protection of Christian holy sites and communities.
The faithful of the Order to pray, donate, and advocate on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Taybeh and Gaza.
Taybeh is not merely a village. Gaza is not merely a war zone. They are living icons of the Passion—wounded, bloodied, and yet radiant with the light of the Resurrection.
To attack Taybeh is to strike at the soul of the Christian presence in the West Bank.
To bomb Gaza’s churches and mosques is to crucify the innocent anew.
But be assured: the soul of the Holy Land cannot be extinguished by fire, nor driven out by fear.
It lives in every prayer uttered in Taybeh’s churches.
It lives in every candle lit in Gaza’s ruins.
It lives in every child who dares to hope.
It lives in every Christian who refuses to leave.
And it lives in all of us who refuse to be silent.
May the memory of the righteous be eternal.
May the people of Taybeh and Gaza find peace, protection, and justice.
And may the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob judge rightly between the oppressor and the oppressed.
In Christ our Lord,
The Holy Orthodox Order of Saint George the Great Martyr
To support and donate for emergency aid and reconstruction efforts in Taybeh and Gaza, please visit our website or contact our humanitarian office directly.
The Order remains steadfast in its commitment to the community of Saint Porphyrios, to Archbishop Alexios of Tiberias, to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and to all Christians who live and breathe across Gaza, the Holy Land, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and the wider Middle East.
